Lapsang Souchong Smokey Tea

[bluto]

I read a recommendation on here about a Smokey black tea from China , so I ordered it up and tried it out , its pretty good .
The aroma in the bag ( it’s loose tea ) is very Smokey piney , it steeps perfectly in a pot of just under boiling hot water and tastes best without anything added .
Very pleasant Smokey tastes and smell in the cup , not unlike drinking a liquid version of Latakia , I thought I might get a little sick of it , but nope , it’s grown on me ..

 

[hugodrax]

Rather enjoy it myself. Be careful...for us obsessive types, tea can become a whole new frontier.

 

[molach95]

There was a good channel on Youtube called Tea 'n' Tobacco. Unfortunately it is no longer active.

 

[bluto]

Its good to discover these things . Tried out green tea for awhile and various black teas . Its nice to drink in the afternoon , no caffeine overload .

 

[molach95]

Those "Russian caravan" teas you can get from various companies are also quite nice I think. It has a degree of smokiness as it contains Lapsang Souchong along with other leaves. I always drink tea when I smoke a pipe, but due to my UK/Irish heritage that means it's just standard black tea from teabags with milk. I prefer coffee with cigars.

 

[bluto]

My parents were tea fanatics , good old orange pekoe everyday
And they were fussy about it too , it had to be the best Ceylon black tea with cream and sugar or nothing..

 

[molach95]

I'm no tea expert but I think I prefer black teas from Assam and Ceylon because that's what I've grown up drinking, albeit not the best quality examples. We start drinking tea young in the UK; my first cup of tea with milk and sugar must have been at age 5 or 6, although I don't take sugar anymore. There is something called "builder's tea" here made by steeping some very strong tea with lots of sugar and enough milk to colour, as traditionally drunk by workmen and tradesmen.

 

[crashthegrey]

You can find Lapsang in different degrees of smokiness, as well. Some is very lightly smoked and some much heavier. It is good on its own. When made into Caravan, it is often blended with a Keemun and an oolong, although there are as many recipes as you can imagine, and then is very good with a bit of milk or cream. I buy Lapsang by the pound and never weary of it, but I have a tea rotation as many have tobacco rotations.

 

[voorhees]

I love it as well.

 

[JohnMosesBrowning]

I started drinking it after repeatedly seeing it referenced in tasting notes of the smoky whiskies I prefer. I'd never heard of it but like tea well enough so I tracked some down hoping I'd enjoy it but mostly so I'd get the reference. I like it best in the winter months.

 

[bluto]

Hey , rotation , right , I didn’t realize
I don’t want lapsang everyday , so its chai sometimes , green tea , maybe plain old black tea .
But , if I didn’t pick up the exact right brand of orange pekoe to bring home for my parents , I would get a swift kick in the nuts .

 

[techie]

I drink tea when smoking a pipe, but have not tried Lapsang. I'll need to look into it.

 

[hugodrax]

You talked me into the lapsang. Having some right now. Thanks!

 

[dino]

I smoke mostly English blends with lots of Orientals and Latakia (primarily Syrian). A Sherlockian friend introduced me to a tea called Baker Street Afternoon Blend from Upton Tea Imports. It is Lapsang, Keemun and Darjeeling, and complements the tobacco beautifully.

 

[winton]

Dino, that sounds great, except hold the latakia. My tea collection is similar to my tobacco collection. But my wife lets me enjoy it indoors with her.

 

[jmd110]

LS was my favorite tea. When visiting China I asked for some to take home. They drink green tea. After some special arrangements, I was able to take some basket fired tea home. I am now drinking Lavender Earl Grey, Twinings new blend. It is very aromatic and quite a departure from LS. I also like the Lipton loose tea. Very pedestrian, but a good cup.

 

[crashthegrey]

Wait until you guys discover puerh tea. Compressed and aged. I age teas and tobacco, and have a cellar for each. 20 year kunming aged ancient arbor high elevation YiWu, yes please.

 

[bluto]

What is puerh comparable to ?

 

[crashthegrey]

There is ripe and raw puerh, shou and sheng respectively. I'll skip too much detail on ripe, as it is a later developed technique originally meant to pre-age puerh, and tends to taste of compost and mushrooms. Not bad, by any means, but a different beast. Raw, or sheng puerh, is like green tea and oolong made a great love child. Obviously, any description is a generalization as there are distinct differences in altitude and region, but they tend to be a little bitter when young, and mellow with age. They start like a strong green tea, fair amount of bitterness and a full mouthfeel. As they age, a natural sweetness can come to the front, and the bitterness calms, astringency reduces, and darken in color and fill that mouthfeel into a soupy goodness. If you are interested, check out Yunnan Sourcing, the whole company is run by Scott, and his wife, with his in-laws handling most of the China side of the business for him. He has fantastic samplers which can introduce you to the hobby. You'll want to look into gong fu brewing, small 5-10g brews of multiple steeps.

 

[perdurabo]

I like the Harney&Sons version.
The tin States: Pine Smoke and Bacon with some dark stone fruit notes.
Dark stone Fruit, I don’t know what that is but the stuff is good.
The real question is how you brew it. Harvey and Sons recommends 5 minutes. But online tea seller/clubs/forums say 3 minutes. I like the 5 V’s. The 3.